April 10, 2016

So how many of you like to color? One of my favorite things to do! I have all kinds of calming adult coloring books; color the different names of God, calming garden, butterflies, stain glass windows etc. This isn’t a new concept. Several years ago I was introduced to Praying in Color. Sybil MacBeth introduced Praying in Color through several books and CD’s. She had found herself overloaded with prayers for family and friends who had received ugly and scary diagnoses. It was getting harder and harder to pray for a lack of ability to focus. One day she was sitting out on the porch just doodling with colored markers. Before she knew it she had drawn a shape and within a few minutes she had put the name of a friend inside the shape and added lines and color. Soon she realized that the entire paper was full of different shapes and each one had the name of all a person she was praying for. The action of drawing was a wordless pray for all her family and friends that she wanted to put into the care of God.

In her book Sybil gives eight reasons why to pray in color: 1) You want to pray but words escape you. 2) Sitting still and staying focused in prayer are a challenge. 3) Your body wants to be part of your prayer. 4) You want to just hang out with God but don’t know how. 5) Listening to God feels like an impossible task. 6) Your mind wanders and your body complains. 7) You want a visual, concrete way to pray. 8) You need a new way to pray. There was a game we played when I was kid that was very calming. My mother held it in her back pocket for those raining days and there is nothing to do statements. She would give us a sheet of paper and tell us to just draw all kinds of lines in every direction connecting with each other. When we were done we got a glass of milk and told to color each design a different color. David, Nancy and I would try to see who could make the design come alive in color. Try it. You might find that it is easier to have a conversation with God with color.

When I Say I am Christian

When I say, “I am a Christian I’m not shouting, “I am saved!” I’m whispering, “I get lost sometimes that’s why I chose this way.” When I say, “I am a Christian” I don’t speak with human pride, I’m confessing that I stumble – needing God to be my guide. When I say, “I am Christian” I’m not trying to be strong, I’m professing that I’m weak and pray for strength to carry on. When I say, “I am a Christian” I’m not bragging of success, I’m admitting that I’ve failed and cannot ever pay the debt. When I say “I am a Christian” I don’t think I know it all, I submit to my confusion asking humbly to be taught. When I say, “I am a Christian” I’m not claiming to be perfect, my flaws are far too visible, but God believe I’m worth it. When I say, “I am Christian”, I still feel the sting of pain I have my share of heartache which is why I seek God’s name. When I say, “I am a Christian” I do not wish to judge I have no authority I only know I’m loved. (Carol Wimmer wrote this and a priest friend used it in his homily one weekend. I keep this close to me and read it often.